A Medievengers Adventure
by The Truth Smith
Summary: Medieval Avengers AU. It's been sixteen years since the death of King Howard at the hands of a shifter. Since then all shifers, regardless of their involvement, have faced hate, discrimination, and persecution for their very existence. The few shifters that have survived these tough times have done so by hiding, but as Katrina and Bruce soon learn no one can hide forever.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:This story is a byproduct of secretly watching the bachelorette late at night while reading avenger fan fiction. I had never seen the show before and to be honest probably won't again, but I did find it fascinating how upset everyone got about people coming onto the show for all the wrong reasons, which is crazy because, lets face it, only one person can marry the bachelorette and it is a television show. Anyways this story is all about people who have joined a romantic competition for all the wrong reasons but end up falling in love regardless.**

Key terms:

Mages. Possess two recessive Mage genes. Considered blessed by the gods these people are typically royalty or high nobility. Powers highly varied. If descended from two mages can obtain either ability. If descended from a Mage and an enhanced/carrier will obtain power from the Mage. If descended from two enhanced/carriers will obtain new ability. In both Midgard and Asgard only mages can inherit the throne.

Carriers. Possess one recessive Mage gene and a nonmagical gene. Other than early childhood sickness there is no outward sign of being a Mage carrier. Carriers are typically of royal or noble birth however on rare occasions commoners may develop the gene through mutations.

Enhanced. Carriers that ingest a magic strengthening solution in early childhood develop heightened senses, super strength, faster healing rate, etc. Generally only those with money can afford to procure the necessary potion. Ingesting the potion without being a carrier may lead to death.

Shifters. Posses one or two dominant shifter genes. Considered a curse by the general populace this almost extinct ability is found only in commoners. When shifted the animal retains its human mind and when human the shifter retains some of its animal instincts and abilities. The shifter's animal half is determined by its first shift. A guided shift allows a shifter to inherit their animal form from a close family member, while a natural shift allows the shifter to pick up whatever animal best suits their personality.

Enhanced shifter. This rare combination of one shifter gene and one Mage gene has only been accomplished once in recent history due to class divides. The shifter's human half behaves much like the top tier of the enhanced, their strong bodies, sharp minds, and killer instincts making them a formidable opponent. However not much is know about the shifter's other half, as the only time it was ever spotted in mass was when it had destroyed the better part of a city.

Now, on with the story.

* * *

"Bruce! You'll never guess what I heard earlier today!" A brown haired, brown eyed teen chirped excitedly at the equally young man running the small, cave like apothecary.

"Oh?" Came Bruce's disinterested reply as he tiredly glanced up at the teen that often passed as his twin brother. "Don't tell me, the guards have finally caught on to your thieving ways and are coming to haul you off later today." He deadpanned, neatly sorting and arranging the store's best selling beautification potions.

"What? No! Be serious for a second here Brucey bear." The teen indigently huffed, ignoring Bruce's tell tail smirk.

"Fine. What is so important you saw fit to disturb me from setting up shop for the day?" Bruce playfully groused, pushing up his wire frame spectacles so he could glance fully at the teen. "Need I remind you that most of our meager earnings come from this little store."

"Our earnings are far from meager. Besides, most of what we sell originate from goods that I've... procured. Or have you forgotten?" The teen drawled, flashing a sly grin back at Bruce.

"No, no. I've not forgotten." Bruce sighed, running a hand through his thick brown curls. "Is it really so hard to ask for a simple, normal life, even if for just a day?" Bruce grumbled to the heavens as he settled onto the shop's lone, rickety, wooden stool. "Fine. What hair brained scheme have you come up with now?" He asked, eyes focused fully on the other teen.

"I thought you'd never ask brother." The teen grinned, teeth flashing in the store's dim lighting. "It's simple really. I've received news that a large majority of the nation's nobles, and the wealthier merchants, are set to leave town for a couple months, taking their abundant wealth and business with them. Most have opted out of guards in favor of swifter travel, leaving them open to attack. A thief's dream really. But perhaps the best news is that they are all gathering in one set, known, location."

"Oh? And where exactly are they headed?" Bruce queried, leaning forward curiously in his chair.

"Arcadia." Came the teen's soft spoken, hesitant reply, instinctively knowing how Bruce would take the news.

"The capital!" Bruce exclaimed, his eyes flashing green in shock as he knocked over his stool in his haste to get to his feet. "You want to steal from the capital!" Bruce sputtered, unable to believe the teen standing before him. "Kit, don't you realize how dangerous that is? If you get caught you'll get more than just a couple of months in jail. You'll be lucky to leave with your life once your registered as a shifter." Bruce cried, pulling the other teen close. "Your the only family I have left Katrina, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too."

"Then I won't get caught." Katrina smiled reassuringly at her brother, watching as his magic bright green eyes slowly shifted back to their familiar brown. "I'm a master thief Bruce. I can steal in the capital just as easily as I can here in Rhodes. Besides, with most of our clientele leaving town I don't think we have much choice in the matter. We need the money."

Bruce shook his head in defiance, refusing to risk losing his sister. "No. You don't know the streets of Arcadia well enough. At least here you have back up routes on top of back up routes. As for money, we can make do without for a couple of months. We can save some by buying our own supplies, rather than relying on an intermediary. If need be we can even forage or fish for our supper, or even barter with our neighbors. We don't need to go to Arcadia."

"Bruce." Katrina sighed, running a hand through her boyishly short hair. "It'll be winter soon. You know neither of our animals can handle the cold for long. You become slow and lethargic and refuse to leave the den as your bear's need to hibernate kicks in. And as a desert fox I'm twice as frail in the winter chill as your average human. At least in Arcadia the land is magically climate controlled. It will keep back most of the winter chill and allow us to function normally."

"Fine." He acquiesced. "Suppose we do go. What reason do we have for being there? What's to stop the guards from hauling us off the second something valuable goes missing? We hardly blend in with the locals." He gestured at his slightly worn tunic with a frown. While it was undoubtedly well made and crafted from quality materials it was also considered severely old fashioned in the capital.

"We'll be going there for the same reason as everyone else." Katrina smirked, pulling out a slightly crumpled parchment embossed with the royal insignia from her coat pocket. "The capital is hosting a two month long engagement ceremony in which any well off, educated citizen is able to compete for the hand of either the crown prince or princess. So long as the contestant can pass an entrance exam, they will be provided with free room and board at the castle for the duration of the competition."

"So your plan is to throw off suspicion by stepping into the lime light?" He chuckled, patting his pockets with one hand as he reached for the letter with the other. "That's bold, even for you."

"Yes, well, I've found most people are prone to overlooking what is right in front of them." She taped the bridge of her nose pointedly, causing Bruce to flush as he realized he was already wearing his glasses.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment, and focused all his attention onto reading the letter. "It says that the entrance ceremony will consist of two main stages. The first is a written exam covering everything from politics and history, to advanced math and science. A score of 70 or above is needed to move on to the next challenge. The second test is a rigorous obstacle course in which only the top 50 contestants will be allowed to move on. This is followed by a ball in which contestants are encouraged to socialize with each other as they may be paired together on double or even group dates. Unfit candidates maybe eliminated at this juncture at the discretion of the crown prince or princess." He pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "All this just to qualify as a contestant? They'll be lucky to have anyone left after the first exam."

Katrina waved her hand dismissively at the comment, well used to his distrust of their fellow citizens' overall intelligence. "As our future rulers the prince and princess deserve the best. What better way to determine that then a classic test of brains, brawn, and beauty. Besides, This event is mostly for show. Prince Anthony will pick the first magical to catch his eye, most likely his childhood friend, Lady Virginia. And princess Natasha will likely be married off to crown prince Thor, so that Midgard can strengthen its allegiance with Asgard." Katrina sighed as she expertly folded and pocketed the letter. "Not that it matters much. We'll simply be passing through, taking full advantage of the chaos to lift a handful of high valued treasures from the snootier nobles." She rolled her eyes at Bruce's disapproving frown, adding a soft, "just enough to get by," to appease him. "We might not even have to take the test if we can find adequate accommodations else where."

Bruce scratched his chin thoughtfully as he rounded the desk and reached into the false bottom of one of the drawers, pulling out a small list written in a code only he understood. The highly guarded list contained the names of his top fences and informants in each city. "Hmm, I believe I may know someone who- ah ha, here it is." He pointed to a seemingly random set of symbols mid way through the list. "Laura, one of the top seamstresses in Arcadia, her booming business allows her to keep up to date on all the local news. She's the main reason we have managed to evade general Ross and his hunting squad for as long as we have. I'm sure, for the right price, she could find us a temporary den for the winter. We may even avoid having steal altogether if she's in a generous mood."

"Good, then it's settled. We leave in the morning. Pack everything of worth, I've already sent for a wagon and prepped the wards. Our only concern will be making it to Arcadia before the nobles."


	2. Chapter 2

Luckily for Bruce and Katrina, Rhodes was just a two days ride from the capital, allowing them the better part of a day to explore and familiarize themselves with the foreign environment.

"You know, Kit," Bruce awkwardly started midway through their second day of nonstop travel, the city's gates looming in the distance. "I've been meaning to ask. Are you planing to attend the ball as yourself, you know, as a woman, or as my brother?" Bruce questioned, his cheeks bright red and his eyes firmly affixed to the road. "I mean, I know it's easier and more socially acceptable for a man to wander through the streets unaccompanied than it is for a woman, and that when we were on the run everyone was on the lookout for a male and female shifter duo. It was only logical for you to play the part of my brother, but here we'll just be two merchants looking for potential suitors. And well, wouldn't you be more comfortable if you weren't lying about something as basic as your gender if you do happen to find someone suitable?"

"Don't be silly Bruce, we're not going to be in the competition long enough for it to matter." Katrina laughed. "Besides the other merchants and nobles from Rhodes already know me as your brother. It would draw too much suspicion if I went as a girl. No, I'll be going as your twin brother Kit, or rather, Christopher, for the entirety of our stay. I've already forged all the necessary papers."

"Of course you have." Bruce sighed, gently nudging the horses forward. "And I'm sure their impeccably forged, but did you even consider it? Even if for just a moment?" He glanced at his sister, eyes practically dripping with concern. "You shouldn't have to hide such an intricate part of yourself. Not any more."

"My gender is hardly my biggest or even most dangerous secret." She sighed, shaking her head morosely. "I'm a thief. I steal for a living. If I'm caught I could end up in jail. I'm also a shifter something that could get me killed at the drop of a hat. But my gender, the most that lie would ever cost me is a minor fine and some weird looks."

"And any chance of finding love." Bruce stubbornly interjected. "Surely you do not intend to spend the rest of your life alone?"

"And what if I do? Is that so terrible a fate? To live and do as I please. Free of the shackles that would bind my soul to another." She scoffed, shaking her head. "I refuse to be collared by some man or play some noble woman's house pet. No. If I were to marry it would be to someone I could trust, an equal, something not even a soul bond can guaranty. Not given what we are."

"You don't have to tell them your a shifter. You can control the urge. You can-"

"What? Stay human. Lie to my mate. And what happens when my child is born a shifter? Do I leave them like my father left me? Leave my defenseless little kit to deal with the anger of a spurned mate." The image of her birth mother's resentful stare and hate filled eyes haunting her even in adulthood. The knowledge that her father only left because he could sense her shifter magic was like adding salt to the wound. "Or do I tough it out like mother," her true mother, the one who took her in and raised her as her own, all while knowing she was a shifter, "and end up paying for my lie with my life."

Bruce flinched as he recalled the night in mention. The night his father found out they were shifters. It had been his tenth birthday. A joyous occasion he was content to share with just his adopted sister and his mother, as his drunk of a father spent his evening in the local pub. Bruce was rolling around on the riverbed attempting to catch his first fish under the patient guidance of his mother, when suddenly his father appeared, bow at the ready as he locked onto the little black bear trailing after his wife.

He remembered the sharp twang of the arrow being loosed and his mother's scream to run as the sent of blood filled the air. The feel of Katrina ruffly tugging him to safety as angry shouts we soon drowned out by the sound of fists striking flesh.

Bruce trembled, his grip on the reigns tightening as he recalled each bruise and cut littered across his mother's deathly pale skin. The arrow meant for him had hit her mid thigh ensuring a quick death, but still his father, fueled by anger, had continued to beat her to her dying breath even as each and every cut he inflicted appeared on him a moment later.

Everything after that was a blur of green as his magic lashed out on him and his environment. It kicked up dirt and leaves, creating a small cyclone of destruction before turning on him with equal vigor. In that moment his anger filled magic irrevocably changed him, turning his once black fur a blazing green all while enlarging him to the size of an adult bear. The sight of his still father lying next to his battered mother only inciting his rage as he could no longer avenge her death.

It took Katrina repeatedly barreling into his magically enhanced form and the destruction of half their village to calm his magic down enough for him to shift back and even then it was not as seamless as it should have been. His bones cracked and shattered violently underneath his skin, nothing like the seamless transition of his previous shifts, and his clothes, made entirely of organic materials, lay in tatters around him even though they should have shifted with him. He remembered collapsing, clutching the last of his family close to his chest as he chocked back sobs. "I just want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy, Kit."

"Bruce." Katrina softly called, drawing him out of his darkest memories. "Just because I might never get married doesn't mean I'm not going to be happy. I've got a job that I love, friends that put up with my insane antics, and the best brother I could have ever asked for." She grinned as her brother laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "Don't worry so much about things you can't control Bruce. You'll just end up giving yourself a head full of gray hairs."

"Too late for that." Bruce weakly joked back, deciding to let the matter drop. "You've already beaten me to it." He ruffled his hair revealing a distinguished smattering of gray hairs at his temple.

"You've had those for ages." Katrina scoffed, gesturing widely at his entire head. "That can't possibly be all my fault."

"Quite." Bruce deadpanned, his eyes flat. "I believe they appeared about a week after that potion you botched. You know, the one where you added hell weed instead of heal weed which caused the potion to explode all over the lab. That one little mixup cost me a months worth of research." He mock scowled, wagging his finger at her as if she were a misbehaving two year old. "Your lucky the cauldron didn't break. Shrapnel's a lot harder to wash off then some stray globs of potion."

"It was an honest mistake." Katrina sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of her neck. "The labels were smudged and the plants all sort of look the same when they're all dried up like that. And well, it's not like I could smell them, not over the stench of the potion."

Bruce rolled his eyes but what ever his reply would have been was cut off by a rather grumpy looking guard stationed at the city's gate. "Travel papers." He irritably snapped in a manner that suggested he'd rather be anywhere but there.

"Oh, yes. I have them right here." Katrina politely smiled, pulling out both sets of travel papers and graciously handing them over.

"Hmm." The shrewd faced guard murmured, critically eyeing both sets of documents. "Says your here for the royal engagement ceremony. Is that right?"

"Yes. We thought it a great opportunity to sus out potential suitors and perhaps establish contacts to help expand our business." Bruce offered neutrally, hoping to bypass the gate as seamlessly as possible.

"Humph. Merchants. Don't even know why their letting your lot in. Your probably just going to try to trick some impressionable young lord or lady in to marrying you to advance your station. Not that you'd stand a chance against a real noble." He stuck his snooty little nose superiorly into the air, no longer concerned with reading the papers. "You should just go home. Nobody wants you here." He waved his hand dismissively at them, as if batting an unsightly fly away from his presence.

His rude comments and disrespectful behavior made Katrina's hands twitch towards the twin bone daggers hidden at her waist, her only thoughts on teaching the fool his place. She doubted he'd last more then a minute before wetting himself in fright. The only thing stopping her from attacking the blond nuisance was her brother's firm grip on her shoulder and the slight shake of his head. Right. Gutting a man in broad daylight was not the best way to remain unnoticed. Thankfully someone else intervened before the idiot said something so insulting it pushed common sense out the window.

"Justin! What in god's green earth do you think your doing?" A much larger, brown haired, gruff looking man dressed in a sharp black suit snapped at the entitled blond.

"Nothing," the blond jumped, scrambling into a more appropriate guard position, "just making sure all the paper work's in order. Sir."

"You better be. If I catch you disparaging another merchant attending the ceremony I'll put you on latrine duty for a month, regardless of what Lord Hammer says on your behalf. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir, Sir Hogan." Justin saluted, quickly stepping back to let his superior deal with the merchants.

"I apologize for my associate's behavior. He is only on guard duty as punishment for loosing yet another one of his failed experiments onto the city. They thought sending him here would keep him from causing trouble but I've got more complaints in a single day then I typically deal with in a year." He shook his head morosely, his face etched into a permanent frown.

"Anyways, where were we? Ah right the papers." He nodded as he flipped threw the slightly crumpled pages and stamped each in turn before handing them back. "Now you just need to get your badges and sign a waver agreeing to attend the entrance exam and your good to go."

"And what exactly will the badge be used for?" Bruce asked, peering curiously at the blank bit of metal no larger then the size of his thumb nail. It's unimpressive size making it more of a pin then a badge.

"It's something prince Anthony worked out actually." Sir Hogan spoke, a bit of pride leaking into his voice. "Once you add a bit of your blood to it it'll display your score and overall ranking instantaneously. It's mostly to prevent cheating, since the badge can only be worn by the person it's linked to. Something about each person having a unique aura, I think it was."

Bruce winced at the lack luster explanation silently wondering what other information the pin would have access to with just a drop of blood. "And your sure that's all it does, that it's safe?"

"Yes. Prince Anthony made it quite clear to his uncle Obadiah that his device would only receive and display the relevant testing information and that it would not relay or record a person's genetic or magical histories or anything like that as it's considered a violation of privacy."

"That rather noble of him." Katrina skeptically replied. The thoughtful gesture not at all what one would expect given the prince's wild reputation.

"Yeah well I think he wanted to leave it open ended so he could marry whomever he wanted, rather then limit himself to only those of magical decent."

Bruce slowly nodded, rubbing the pin contemplatively between his fingers. In a way that made sense. The prince had never been one to take the easy route or to follow orders. Just last year he took a three month long vacation without informing anyone of where he was headed. A man like that doesn't just marry someone to secure the line. In fact they'd be lucky if he decides to marry at all.

With a weary grin Bruce took a deep, steadying breath before pressing the sharp tip of the pin into his thumb, knowing that attempting to stall any longer would simply draw suspicion. He glanced up meeting his sisters worried gaze with his own steely calm, letting his eyes meaningfully flicker to the right side of the cart, where they kept the fresh animal samples. If the pin did somehow register magic, his own mixed heritage should create enough confusion for Kit to reach the vials of pigs blood hidden in the cart. Smearing just a drop on his fingers would be enough to convince the guards that the faulty results were due to cross contamination. With a viable backup plan secured, he let his blood slide down the metal tip and sear into the face of the pin.

The entire pin glowed a faint blue for an agonizing second before consolidating into a small blue ring, a simplistic depiction of the city's famed Arc reactor. "Right, your brother next." Sir Hogan nodded, handing Bruce the competition waver to sign.

Knowing what to expect Katrina cupped the pin in her left hand as her blood absorbed into the metal, blocking the light in case things went pear shaped. As luck would have it her pin reacted just as Bruce's and it wasn't long before she too was signing the waver. It was a simple form in which the contestant promise not to lie or cheat during the trials and stated that the contestant was participating under their own free will, knowing that if in the end they were chosen by the prince or princess they would have to accept.

The rest of their time at the check point passed by seamlessly after that and it wasn't long before the duo received directions to The Silk Spider, Laura's insanely popular clothing store. One that, if you believed the rumors, was often frequented by the crown prince and princess.

"Soooooo." Katrina drawled as she casually leaned against the store's brick exterior, studying her fidgeting brother. "Are we waiting for something, or someone, or do we just going in?"

"Ah, no. We can go in. Just, uh," he bit his lip nervously, his cheeks bright red, "just promise not to laugh." Making no such promise Katrina simply quirked a brow and strolled into the well lit store, her eyes darting across richly colored fabrics that she could never wear. Swearing under his breath Bruce followed after her dreading what was to come.

"Oh, hello. Do you need help finding anything? We've got a large collection of specialty suits designed to help you stand out during the competition if your interested." A blond haired, blue eyed, friendly looking woman chirped excitedly from behind the counter. The brightly colored name tag identifying her as Laura, the owner of the shop.

"Um, no," Bruce stammered, "we're actually here to pickup a package for a uh," he cleared his throat awkwardly as he glanced at his sister, suddenly wishing he had picked a better code name, "a Mr. Green."

Laura's head jerked up, startled, before adopting a suspiciously blank expression. "I'm not aware of such an order for a Mr. Green. Is it at all possible it was ordered under a different name?"

"Perhaps." Bruce nodded, having expected those exact words. "Could you check under the name Blair?" The name sounding frightening close to bear even to Katrina's sensitive ears.

Laura's eyes widened as she glanced from Bruce to Katrina to the small clusters of customers browsing the shelves. "Oh yes, of course. I remember that order. The suit was finished just last night. Come. Please. Follow me." She cheerily smiled, waving an assistant over to take her place as she led the siblings up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway. Once confident that they were far enough away to not be heard over the din of the store she stopped, eyeing both shifters wearily. "I hope you realize what you're getting yourselves into. The capital is swarming with hunters and guards just dying to get their hands on a shifter pelt, especially with the engagement ceremony taking place. The idiots will do anything they think will help them curry favor with the royals."

"We're aware." Bruce sheepishly smiled, adopting his standard unassuming bystander pose. "We've dealt with our fair share of hunters over the years, and while I can't promise we won't get caught I can assure you that we'll do our best to avoid detection and that if we're ever detained your name will never pass our lips."

Laura nodded solemnly at the duo, eyeing the steal pins affixed to their tunics like the magical chains she knew they were. "Well, all the inns are booked for the event but they should open up in a couple of days. Till then you can stay in the attic." She nodded at a second flight of stairs. "It's not much, barely enough room to lay out two sleeping mats, but it should only be for a week at most and it's completely rent free so long as you stay out of trouble."

"I'm sure it's plenty large enough. I could sleep in a shoe box if I needed to." Katrina joked, smiling warmly at the blond. "And as for other accommodations, well, we were actually hoping to pass the entrance exam so we could stay in the castle."

"We were?" Bruce questioned, startled, earning a slow nod from Katrina.

"It's only logical. We pass with the lowest scores possible and then do something drastic that gets us eliminated once the event actually starts."

"Isn't that a little risky?" Bruce asked, his brows pitched together with worry.

"Meh. We'll be forgotten in a matter of days." Katrina shrugged dismissively. "No one bothers to remember the first couple of people to get eliminated. At most we get labeled upstart little merchants and get scowled at the rest of our stay."

Laura laughed at the put out expression on Bruce's face, startling him out of a retort. "Well, the room's your as long as you need it. Feel free to go ahead and unpack." She chuckled merrily at the siblings. "I'll be just down stairs if you need me."

"Hey. Um, Laura." Bruce called after her slowly retreating form. "Thank you for doing this for us." He shyly grinned, his wide brown eyes alight with heartfelt gratitude. "We truly appreciate all you've done for us and others like us." She smiled back, giving a friendly wave as she descended the stairs heading back to her shop.

Katrina waited till she could no longer hear the soft foot falls of their host before turning her serious brown eyes towards her brother. "Are you sure we can trust her? A normal?"

Bruce bit his lip, silently warring with himself over what to say before slowly nodding. "Six years ago Laura was babysitting her cousin, a little girl no older than four, at a friend's house. Everything was going well until one of the other children ended up knocking her cousin to the ground. It was an accident, not that that mattered to the child. In that brief moment of pain filled panic her cousin reacted on instinct, calling up her magic to protect her from what she believed was an active threat." Bruce paused, taking several deep breaths before continuing the story. "In a flash of yellow magic the girl was gone and in her place was a tiny little rabbit no larger than the size of a fist."

Katrina winced, knowing how the tale would end. "Who reported it?" She asked, hands clenched tightly at her side.

"Her friend's parents." He answered, his voice tight with anger. "It wasn't but ten minutes latter that the girl and the rest of her immediate family were taken in and tested for shifter blood. The girl and her father were given death sentences the moment their results came back positive and the mother, a Mage carrier, followed them but a moment later, the soul bond claiming what rightfully belonged to it."

"That's terrible." Katrina choked out, getting nothing more than a solemn nod from her brother.

"Laura's lost a good chunk of her family to that unjust ordinance." He whispered, his eyes downcast. "Since then she's made it her life's mission to help as many shifters as humanly possible, regardless of the conciseness. The least we could do is trust her."


End file.
